Effects of biochar produced from different biomass sources on digestibility, ruminal fermentation, microbial protein synthesis and growth performance of male lambs

Publication date: Available online 19 December 2019Source: Small Ruminant ResearchAuthor(s): Aazam Mirheidari, Noor Mohammad Torbatinejad, Pirouz Shakeri, Amir MokhtarpourAbstractTwenty four Kermanian ram lambs (21.90 ± 2.24 kg of body weight) were used in a completely randomized design to determine the effects of the addition of walnut shell biochar, pistachio by-product biochar, and chicken manure biochar on feed intake, nutrient digestibility, ruminal fermentation parameters, microbial nitrogen supply (MNS), and growth performance in a 90-day experimental period. Lambs were randomly allocated to one of four experimental diets containing 0 (no added biochar; control), 1% walnut shell biochar (WSB), 1% pistachio by-product biochar (PBB), and 1.5% chicken manure biochar (CMB). Addition of WSB, PBB, and CMB to the diet had no effect on dry matter intake (DMI), but improved (P < 0.01) average daily gain (ADG) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) compared to control diet. Apparent total tract digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) were increased (P < 0.01) with addition of WSB as compared to control. Ruminal ammonia-N (NH3-N) was higher in lambs fed either WSB or PBB compared to control (P < 0.05). The pH values, number of rumen protozoa, total volatile fatty acid (VFA), and molar proportion of individual VFA were not affected by treatments. Concentration of allantoin, xanthine plus hy...
Source: Small Ruminant Research - Category: Zoology Source Type: research